Lori And Her Unique Art

Lori And Her Unique Art

Bruce Von Stiers

Lori Jane Powers is an artist. But she is no ordinary artist. Lori takes items that people have discarded and creates unique artistic pieces from them.

Lori is the subject of a documentary by produced by Paige Morrow Kimball. The film is titled, simply enough, Powers.

Paige is a filmmaker and actor with many projects and roles over the years. She was also a field producer for the Oprah Winfrey Show and Project Greenlight and has directed and produced many films for the iconic show, Sesame Street. Paige has her own production company, Makazan Films.

Lori began making pieces that she felt expressed love and hope and life. In fact, some of the pieces have words like “Laugh Often!” and “Be You.” The thought behind these pieces of art, sculptures really, is to provide a positive message to the neighborhood.

During the film, we get to see Lori making some of this art and also placing it. These pieces are hung on telephone poles. But Lori is somewhat hesitant about placing them during daylight hours. This is due to a law not allowing items to be placed on utility poles. So, she goes out in the middle of the night to put up her art. We see later, that as she becomes more comfortable, the installations are being done during the day.

Along with seeing Lori in action, she provides insights into her art and her life. The audience is introduced to Lori's son Max Powers, and daughter Jaryn Kile. Both provide their own insights on their mother and her art. Lori talks about growing up, her siblings and parents, and what finally drove her away from her family. Lori also talks about not coming to art until her ‘50's and now, in her ‘60's, she is now able to follow her passion, and hopefully inspire others. In fact, during most of the pandemic, Lori opened up her studio to budding artists.

In her Director's Statement, Paige tells of how the film came about. Working from home, with two teenaged girls, Paige often took walks in the neighborhood. She came across Lori's artwork. Eventually she met Lori. Wishing to remain anonymous, Lori asked that Paige not tell anyone. Intense curiosity, and a compelling desire to share a great story, Paige went to Lori's studio almost every day and filmed her.

Paige filmed the documentary using an iPhone 11 Pro. She even learned how to edit the film using Premiere Pro. The footage was excellent and professional looking. This is the second film that I've reviewed that was shot using an iPhone. Apparently, the cameras and associated apps on iPhones are really that good.

Helping on the editing of the film as Valeria Gualdi, whose previous editing credits include short films Wesley and The Game. Sherril Schlesinger and Annie Barliant were consulting editors.

The music in the film was done by Catherine Joy with some additional music composed by Omri Lahav. He, along with Lori's son, Max Powers, performed the song Daniel's Joy for the film. The song was written by Max and Lori. It is revealed during the film that Max is a musical artist, who became inspired to move forward with his music due to his mother's own initiative.

Other people involved in the film were Rob Marshall, Bruce Greenspan, Pierce Cook, Rod Corvo, Johan Harahap, Adam Schlesinger, Rascui Rivas and Alicia Kelly.

Powers has a play time of twenty-four minutes.

Powers has been an official selection at several film festivals this year, including the Cleveland International Film Festival, Wicked Queer Film Festival, Gold Standard Film Festival and Dances With Films. So far, the film has won five awards, including Best Short Documentary Film and Best Women's Short Film.

At this time, Powers doesn't have an official general release date. But it will be an entry in upcoming festivals such as the Downtown LA Film Festival, the Global Peace Film Festival, the DC Shorts Film Festival and the San Jose Shorts International Film Festival.

Powers is a film that is intended to inspire you to pursue your dreams. And I think it succeeds. Lori Powers didn't find her passion for art until a little later in life. But sometimes things just hold you back and then, when you least expect it, inspiration, and a passion for something comes to life. In ways you might not expect it to. This was my take on Lori's story. And a great story it is.

If you are interested in learning more about the film, visit https://paigemorrowkimball.com/powers-film/

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